Reformers will always be questioned, but the problem is that Shaw's grasp of the NBA's course has so far proven right: Under his control, the N.B.A. has quickly risen to become the second-most influential and valuable sports league in the United States. One notable phenomenon is that for the first time this year, ESPN, a well-known sports media website, has placed the NBA ahead of MLB (Major League Baseball) in its program directory. You know, MLB used to be one of the most profitable leagues, and its position in the hearts of the American people is unshakable. "Xiao Hua is interested in the promotion of NBA brand value, the process of globalization, the transformation of participation methods, and the expansion of peripheral derivative products, which is an era of expansion and an era of more emphasis on user experience and feelings. All his thoughts revolve around this purpose. This is how renowned ESPN reporter Remona described Xiao Hua in his eyes.

The team, the players and the fans are all happy, and they don't know how much time and effort Xiao Hua and the advertisers have put into the negotiating table. This game between teams, players, fans and sponsors is definitely not easy, and Xiao Huazhi's efforts are often invisible to the outside world.

Of course, although the biggest winner is still Xiao Hua and the NBA at his helm.

In mid-2015, Nike snatched the official NBA jersey sponsorship contract from its main rival Adidas for eight years and $1 billion. In the 2017-18 season, the NBA jersey ended the 10-year Adidas era and officially entered the Nike era.

Basketball is probably the segment where Nike and Adidas have the biggest disparity. In mid-2015, Nike and the NBA officially announced that Nike would become the official jersey sponsor of the NBA from the 2017-18 season. Perhaps, it is precisely because of this clear victory and defeat that the final announcement of this news is logical and even a little bit like it is after all in the eyes of people who care about the NBA and sports brands.

In the two years that followed, the two sporting goods giants showed the demeanor of international giants. One completes the last two years of the contract peacefully, without absent-mindedness, and quietly waits for the contract to begin to take effect, without rushing to seek a sense of existence. On September 15, 2017, Nike held a press conference in Los Angeles to unveil the new themed jerseys of 30 NBA teams and NikeConnect, a new technology that interacts with fans, announcing that it has officially taken over the NBA jersey business.

When the contract was signed in mid-2015, the American media broke the news that the global sales and marketing partner's contract was eight years long and worth about $1 billion, which means that Nike would pay $125 million to the NBA league every year. With Nike's marketing capabilities in the global basketball market, it's almost impossible to earn back this $125 million a year, but from Nike CEO Mark. Mark Parker's mouth, we also understand, Nike wants to do much more than just earn back the $1 billion, this is a big business that opens up the entire basketball market, and hopes to act on Nike's other market segments and overall competitiveness, like a template.

The official partnership with the NBA officially began, and Nike has made a big splash in interacting with fans - NikeConnect technology. Judging that this new technology is a gift from Nike and the NBA to fans this time, Mark. Parker agreed. Although, for fans, to use this new "black technology", you have to come up with real money.

The new technology is a no-brainer to use, using a phone to scan a jersey with a built-in chip, and then through the NikeConnect app, you can see the jersey corresponding, the star and the team's movement in and out of the game in real time. Overall, the features and content of this app are roughly the same as the current official apps of each NBA team. But for Nike, with the subsequent development and upgrading, NikeConnect will become an important channel for them to interact with consumers.

Of the three versions of the jersey that will be available at the end of September, the $200 Authentic and $110 Singman have this built-in chip, while the $70 Fanatics don't have access to the feature.

It may not be as big as football on a global scale, but the appeal of basketball among young people in the two most important segments, the United States and China, is unquestionable. Nowadays, almost all sports brands are getting closer to young people, and for this reason, they are trying various means at any cost, and introducing various high-tech products and communication methods may be the most effective.

In an exclusive interview with Jiemian News, Nike Group CEO Mark. "Young consumers are one of the main consumer groups, they are tech-savvy, so we want to be able to tell the brand, the content and the story behind it through our products," Parker said. Technology can provide them with a connection to the brand, to the players, to the community, and that connection is very important. At the same time, technology can help us connect with them more deeply, not only for us to provide services to consumers, but also for consumers to give us feedback, which is a two-way street. ”

In this cooperation, Nike has clearly sorted out the multi-layered partnership, including a new way of "talking" with fans and consumers, and naturally including cooperation with the NBA, teams, and players.

The NBA is a very regulated league, and most of the senior executives are lawyers, so to some extent, the implementation of various cooperation is very strict, and the league's control of the team is also very high. Take the cooperation between the NBA and Alibaba as an example, the NBA has opened an official flagship store on Tmall, and each team will face extremely complicated procedures if they want to open their own Tmall flagship store, and even the slightest contact will need to be reported to the NBA league. Therefore, for Nike, the same is true, an official cooperation with the league, but the whole cooperation involves multi-level communication and cooperation with the league, teams and players. Nike believes that they and the NBA's idea coincides: to improve the competitiveness and spectacle of the game, attract more fans, and increase the value of the entire NBA.

The relationship with athletes is considered by Nike to be the basis of all cooperation. Mark. "The relationship with the athletes is the foundation of all cooperation and is at the heart of what we do," Parker said. Connecting with athletes, being able to get a lot of information from them, and then innovating in our products, is feedback to their feedback. This is the foundation of Nike, and it is a very easy relationship. ”

Nike's absolute advantage in basketball is that nine out of ten of the NBA's biggest stars have signed with Nike or its Jordan brand. Therefore, for Nike, signing this official jersey sponsorship partnership means that its largest NBA star camp can maximize its value. Take LeBron. Nike stars signed with NBA players led by James can finally wear their own brand sports suits, warm-up suits and jerseys and pants, and pair of personal customized sneakers produced by Nike, which can drive the consumption power of fans.